Hunger Games Entries

Task 7 - The Tagged

Now, to clear up any confusions. Ian will make a reappearance in this entry, although I killed him off in the bloodbath. Lena too, though she was killed in the previous task while Quinnox was high on some Capitol love potion.

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I wake up to the sound of softly chirping birds and the crisp scent of the forest air. I must have fallen asleep in the middle of the woods. How and why am I here anyway?

Without a second thought, I decide to return to the cornucopia. While I roll up my sleeping bag, I hear footsteps coming from a distance. I turn my head around to catch a glimpse of a head of hair rushing through the trees. When she stops with her back against me, I squint to get a look at her face.

I rub my eyes and look at the figure again. Is that...Amanda? Amanda Jordan Faith? The tribute from District 8 whose neck I helped slash with her own hands?

No way. She's dead. I should know - I killed her. I still remember the image of her blood on the snow, the way her body was mercilessly engulfed by it, like it just happened moments ago. So why is she walking around here?

Am I crazy? It must be it. Because I doubt even the Capitol has the power to bring the dead back to life. Or maybe I'm actually dead and am seeing her again in a place that is not Earth.

She catches sight of me and glares. Just like the way I did to her right before the knife ended her life, only this time more menacing, and seemingly fueled by vengeance. But there's something in that glare that almost feels inhuman.

All of a sudden a loud voice booms across the arena, startling the soul out of my being.

"Attention, tributes! Today is the day of the feast that you have all been waiting for! We have prepared lovely gifts at the cornucopia that you want, but not at the present moment, critically need - letters from your loved ones! Also, we have respawned an old friend for you all in the arena. District 8's Amanda Jordan Faith! She's back, and she wants to play a fun game with you all. So watch your silly little buns, for she might be right behind you!" The announcement ended with a sinister yet mischievous laughter.

She's right in front of me, actually. Apparently there is much about the Capitol that I do not know, like their twisted intentions of using supposedly dead tributes to get rid of living ones. But what about the other tributes? Have they been brought back to life too?

Amanda is pretty much the same as she was before, only that some parts of her body which had been devoured by the snow have been sloppily patched up together with plastic-like glue and clumsy stitches. Her clothes are ripped, and sections of her long hair look molten. Obviously the Capitol didn't really care about aesthetics when they revived her into a grotesque zombie.

"Oh, it's you," she snarls. "Surprised to see me again? Well, not for long."

She takes big steps toward me, and panic immediately overrides my brain that I can't process anything. You could say that I'm scared. Scared mainly because I'm faced with someone I killed. And as I know it, to be killed means to have died - lying down quiet and lifeless, not walking around, making creepy faces towards the murderer. I'm also scared because she has three knives on each hand, two long spears and about two dozen arrows along with a bow strapped on her back.

Run, Quinnox. Run.

So I run. Faster than I ever imagined I could. For once, I'm glad that I have long legs. At least they didn't equip her with super speed. When I glance back, I see that she's stashed her knives away and is now reloading her ridiculously long metal bow with three arrows.

I have to think of something. Climb a tree, dig an escape hole, swallow up a whole banana then use the peel to make her trip and fall into the acidic snow. Anything will do right now.